Center brace for car bolsters



Jan. 19, 1943.- J. E. TEssEYMAN ErAL 2,309,024

' .QENTER BRACE'FOR CAR BOLSTERS Filed Feb. '7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q@YQ @@@Q @wf/f@ Mw' Jan. 19;"1943. J. E. T'ESSEYMAN Em. 2,309,024

CENTER BRACE FR CAR BOLSTERS Filed Feb. 7, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2Patented Jan. 19, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT @HCE CENTER EBRAE FOR CARBOLSTERS Application February '7, 1941, Serial No. 377,768

(Cl. S-420) 5 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to car underframe structures and moreespecially to bolster center braces and back stops for draft gearassociated therewith for freight cars.

In our invention this center brace is made up of rolled and pressedshapes welded together to form an integral unit and is designed to besubstituted for the cast steel bolster center braces generally used onmodern freight oars.

These members are all formed separately and then assembled in a jig andwelded together.

The cast steel braces require machining on all sides which come incontact with therlcenter sill and bolster tie plates and also has tohave all holes drilled to insure accuracy in location of rivet holes.

No machining or drilling of holes is required with our welded design.

One of the objects of our invention relates to the manner ofconstructing a bolster center brace with back stops for draft gearformed of separate rolled, pressed or forged members with holes punchedtherein which may be then assembled in a jig and welded together to forman integral unit adapted to be attached to the center sill by means ofrivets only.

Another object of our invention relates to the manner of constructing abolster center brace with back stops for draft gear formed of separaterolled, pressed or forged members which may be then assembled in a jigand welded together to form an integral unit adapted to be attached tothe center sill by means of welding only.

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A further object of our invention relates to the I manner of forming andsecuring together the vertical longitudinally and transversely extendingstileners for the center braces.

With these and other objects in View, this invention comprises the novelconstruction and combination hereafter described and more particularlypointed out and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus given a general description of the objects of our inventionwe will now in order to make the same more clear, refer to the annexedtwo sheets of drawings forming a part of this specication and in whichlike characters of reference denote like parts.

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional Fig. 2 is a horizontallongitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken o-n the line 3 3 of Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through a car bodybolster center` brace of a oar underframe taken on the line 5 5 of Fig.6 illustrating a modified form of center brace construction in which thecenter brace is attached to the center sill by means of welding only.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional View taken on the line 6 6of Fig. 7.

Fig. '7 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 1 1 of Fig.6, and Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 8 3 ofFig. 6, but showing the modied form of center brace shown in Figs. 5 to7 inclusive applied to an underframe for a flat car.

Referring now to the various characters of referenceon the drawings andrst to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the numeral l indicates the center sillwhich is of Well known standard construction formed of a pair of Z-bars,each having its web 2 disposed vertically with inwardly extending topilanges 3 of greater length and somewhat thinner thickness than thebottom flanges 4. Said top flanges 3 being welded together at theirinner edges as at 5. y

The car body bolster as indicated at 6 has a vertical web plate 1,having its upper edge ilanged as at 8 and connected to the slope oorsheet 9 of a hopper car.

The bolster is provided with a bottom cover plate Ill which extendstransversely beneath the center sill and is riveted to the bottomilanges 4. The bottom edge of the web plate 1 is connected to thetransversely extending cover plate I0 by means of angles Il, and areinforcing angle l2 extends over the center sill and is riveted to thetop flanges 3 and bent downwardly therefrom and riveted to the verticalweb plate l of the boltser 6.

The center sill is secured to the web plate of the bolster at the sidesby means of vertically extending inner and outer angular connections i3and I4, and to further stiffen the bolster at this point the innerconnecting angles extend upwardly nearly to the slope oor sheet 9.

The center brace for the bolster between the pair of Z-bars center sillcomprises two side members l5 each pressed into channel shape anddisposed with their webs I6 vertically and their top and bottom4 flangesI l and IB extending inwardly.

The webs I6 of the channel shaped side members have perforations I9punched therein for receiving rivets 2U by means of which they aresecured to the webs 2 of the Z-bar 'center sill members. The top flangeI1 of each side member I5 is formed slightly longer than the bottomfiange IB and is adapted to be secured by means of rivets 2I to the topanges 3 of the center sill members, While the shorter bottom flanges I8are connected together by means of a bottom plate 22 which is weldedthereto as to 23 and perforated centrally as at 24. A drop forged draftlug 25 is welded as at 26 to the forward end of the web I6 of each ofthe side members I5 which are perforated as at 21 and adapted to besecured to the center sill by means of rivets 28.

The central portion of the bolster center brace is formed of a pair ofvertical transversely extending stiffening plates 29 arranged inparallel alignment with the web plate 1 of the bolster 6, each having anarcuately formed central portion 30 registering with the perforation 24in the bottom plate 22, and are adapted to connect the web I6 of theside members I5 and the bottom plate 22 and welded thereto as indicatedat 3I and 32. The central portion of the center brace is furtherreinforced by means of vertical longitudinally extending stiening plates33 which are welded to the central portions of the stiffening plates 29and the bottom plate 22.

The bottom cover plate I9 which extends transversely beneath the centersill is riveted to the bottom flanges 4 of the center sill, angles II atthe lower edge of the bolster web plate 1, and the A bottom plate 22 ofthe center brace and forms a tie for securely connecting the said partst0- gether, and the central portion of the bolster is further reinforcedby means of the usual center plate 34. 'I'he bottom cover plate andcenter plate 34 each having a hole formed therein registering with theholes 24 and 30 in bottom plate 22 and the transversely extendingstiening plates 29 respectively for receiving a king pin.

Referring now to the modification illustrated in Figs. 5 to '1 inclusivethe general arrangement and construction of the center sill and bolsterare the same as that described for Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive except thatthe parts are shown welded together and the same reference numerals willI apply thereto. In this construction of the center brace the sidemembers are formed of flat plates 35 which are welded as at 36 to thevertical webs of the Z-bar center sill members and are further providedat intermediate points with perforations 31 for plug welds 38.

A draft gear back stop lug 39 is welded to the forward end of each ofthe fiat plate side inembers 35 which is adapted to be welded as at 49to the center sill. 'I'he two side plate members 35 are connected at anintermediate point by means of a bottom plate 4I which is welded theretoand has a central perforation 42. Ihe said side plate members arefurther connected together transversely by means of an I-bar 43 disvstiffening plates 46 are Welded to the web 44 of the I-bar 43 as at 50and the bottom plate 4I as at 5I. The bottom cover plate IU for thebolster has a center plate 34 attached thereto, each having aperforation registering with the openings 42 and 41 in the bottom plate4I and stiffening plates 46 for receiving a king pin.

In Fig. 8 we have shown a center brace constructed in the same manner asshown in Figs. 5 to '1 inclusive, but applied to an underframe for a atcar in which the bolster is the same height as the center sill I and isconnected together at vthe top by means of a cover plate 52.

In Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive we have illustrated the welded 'center braceunit welded to the underframe, but we wish it understood that we may insome cases desire to use rivets for this purpose in a similar manner tothat shown in Figs. l to 4 inclusive.

In view of the foregoing it will be apparent that we have provided asimple fabricated construction formed of rolled and pressed plate metaladapted to form a combined car body center brace and back stop for thedraft gear in which the parts are securely welded together and the partsreinforced, which are adapted to be assembledas a unit in a jig and theninserted between the center sill members and secured thereto to form anintegral structure.

Although we have shown and described our invention in considerabledetail, we do not wish to be limited to the exact, and specific detailsshown and described, but may use such substitutions modifications orequivalents thereof, as are embraced within the scope of our invention,or as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A bolster center brace for a car underframe constructed of aplurality of rolled sections welded together to form an integral unit,comprising a pair of vertical spaced side plate members, a horizontallydisposed bottom plate connecting the lower edges of the side platemembers, an I-bar having its web disposed vertically, welded to andconnecting the plate side members and the horizontally disposed plate,an opening formed in the central lower portion of the web of the I-barand a vertical longitudinally arranged reinforcing plate extendingthrough the opening in the lower central portion of the web of the I-barhaving a welded connection therewith and the horizontally disposedbottom plate.

2. A bolster center brace for a car underframe constructed of aplurality of rolled sections welded together to form an integral unit,comprising a pair of vertical spaced side plate members, a horizontallydisposed bottom plate connecting the lower edges of the side platemembers having a central perforation formed therein, an I-bar having itsweb disposed vertically and transversely of the side plate members andwelded to the horizontally disposed bottom plate and the side platemembers, an opening formed in the central lower portion of the web ofthe I- bar, a pair of vertical longitudinally extending reinforcingplates arranged in con-tact with each other extending through theopening in the web of the I-bar with their lower edges welded to thehorizontally disposed bottom plate, an arcuately formed central portionin each of the longitudinally extending reinforcing plates adapted toform a hole to register with the central perforation in the horizontallydisposed bottom plate to produce a king pin pocket, and a weldedconnection between the arcuately formed central portions of thetransversely extending reinforcing plates and the web of the I-bar.

3. A bolster center brace for a car underframe constructed of aplurality of rolled sec-tions welded together to form an integral unit,comprising a pair of vertically spaced side plate members, ahorizontally disposed bottom plate connecting the lower edges of theside plate members having a central perforation formed therein, an I-barhaving its web disposed vertically and transversely of the said platemembers and welded at its lower end to the horizontally disposed bottomplate and its ilanges welded to the side plate members, an openingformed in the central lower portion of the web of the I-bar, a pair ofvertical longitudinally disposed reinforcing plates arranged in contactwith each other extending through the opening in the web of the I-barwith their lower edges welded to the horizontally disposed bottom plate,an arcuately formed central portion extending vertically in each of thelongitudinally disposed reinforcing plates adapted to form an opening toregister with the central perforation in the horizontally disposedbottom plate to form a king pin pocket, a welded connection between thearcuately formed central portions of the vertical longitudinallyextending reinforcing plates and the web of the I- l bar, and a backstop lug for a draf-t rigging secured to the forward end of each of thevertically spaced side plate members.

4. In a car underframe having a pair of spaced center sill members eachhaving a vertical web with top and bottom flanged edges, a bolster forthe car underframe, a center brace for the bolster constructed of aplurality of rolled members welded together and adapted to be insertedas a unit between the spaced center sill members and secured thereto,comprising a pair of spaced side plate members adapted to be welded tothe webs of the center sill members, a bo-ttom horizontally disposedplate connecting the side plate members, a transversely extending I-bardisposed with its web vertically connecting the intermediate portions ofthe side plate members and the bottom plate, an opening formed in thecentral lower portion of the web of the I-bar, a pair of verticallongitudinally extending stifening plates extending through the openingformed in the web of the I-bar and welded to the bottom plate and theweb of said I-bar, and a welded connection between the bottomhorizontally disposed plate and the web of the I-bar.

5. In a car underframe having a pair of spaced center sill members eachhaving a vertical web, a bolster for the car underframe, a center bracefor the bolster constructed of a plurality of rolled members weldedtogether and adapted to be inserted as a unit between the spaced centersill members and secured thereto, comprising a pair of spaced side platemembers adapted to be welded to the webs of the center sill members, abottom horizontally disposed plate connecting the lower edges of theside plate members having a central perforation, a transversely extend.

ing I-bar disposed with its web vertically connecting the intermediateportions of the side plate members and the bottom horizontally disposedplate, an opening formedin the central lower portion of the web of theI-bar, a pair of vertical longitudinally extending stiffening platesextending through the opening formed in the web of the I-bar and weldedto the bottom plate and the web of said I-bar, a king pin pocket formedin the vertical longitudinally extending stiffening plates registeringwith the perforation in the bot-tom horizontally disposed plate, awelded connection between the bottom horizontally disposed plate and theweb of the I-bar, and a back stop lug for a draft rigging welded to theforward end of each of the spaced side plate members and secured to thevertical web of each of the center sill members.

JOHN E. TESSEYMAN. LOUIS G. MILLER.

